Takoradi, Aug 1, GNA - Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education, on Saturday said plans to enrol the first year group to Senior High School this academic year, is on course and there should be no cause for alarm.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that all Senior High Schools and Technical Institutes were provided with at least the minimum requirements to facilitate teaching and learning.

Mr Tettey-Enyo was speaking at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Bompeh Senior High Technical School, which was on the theme "Bompeh at 25, Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward as a Day School", at Takoradi.

He said government has awarded contracts for the commencement of

of infrastructural work to begin in Senior High Schools and reports indicate work has already started in most of the schools.

Mr Tetteh-Enyo commended the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies that are supporting some schools in this respect, adding that, the numerous works to be done in the schools have been staggered in phases and efforts were being made to ensure that all schools have their fair share of

the provisions.

In addition, he said, with the support of the Agriculture Development Bank (ADB) and other development partners, construction works were going on in some schools to improve the infrastructural needs in those schools.

Mr Tetteh-Enyo said the government has put in place some initiatives to improve the Computerized School Selection and Placement System ( CSSPS) and expressed the hope that as many candidates as possible that qualify for this year's admissions, would have access to continue their education in the Senior High School or Technical Institute.

He said initial preparation towards the review of the school curriculum to meet the current changes in the duration of Senior High School has started and there should not be any problem in that respect.

Mr Tetteh-Enyo said with the support of the ADB, the capacity building training for Senior High School teachers in the core subjects is on course and there are other training programmes which have been planned and would be executed soon to help improve education delivery in schools.

He urged school authorities not to relent in their efforts at marrying discipline with academic pursuit and asked school boards, Parent Teacher Associations and communities to put in place measures that would help school administrators to deal effectively with the current upsurge of student indiscipline which remains a threat to academic pursuits and the moral fabric of the society.

Professor Domwini Dabire Kuupole, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), called on the government to re-position the country's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to become the catalyst for development.

He noted that the TVET has suffered some negative perceptions from portions of the public over the years and it was not uncommon to have people who believe that technical schools were for dropouts or people who failed to progress

to higher levels within the general and grammar schools.

"That explains why I am really interested in the aspect of the function of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education Training (COTVET), which deals with sensitizing the public on the new vision for TVET", Professor Kuupole said.

He advised the continuing students of the school to cultivate self and group discipline because effective learning could only take place within the confines of a disciplined environment.